


Found Belonging

by apisa_b



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Ben Solo Lives, F/M, Fluff, Force Shenanigans, Mild Smut, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:06:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22562239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apisa_b/pseuds/apisa_b
Summary: Rey joins her friends and former comrades in arms on Chandrila for the festivities around the anniversary of the battle of Exegol. To everyone’s surprise she is accompanied by two mysterious Mandalorians.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 9
Kudos: 66
Collections: For one is both and both are one in love: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rissanox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rissanox/gifts).



> Dear Rissanox,  
> It was a pleasure writing for you. I can only hope you like the story I wrote inspired by your prompts.
> 
> Prompt 2: Reylo and The Child (baby yoda) from The Mandalorian. Rey and Ben trying their best to keep up with a Force Sensitive toddler. 
> 
> That was the prompt I chose to run with. But I tried to include themes of your other prompts as well, like having them on a lush green planet (Chandrila is not Naboo, but I hope they find it pleasant enough), and emotions and healing.

“What’s the deal with them?” Finn asked, pointing his chin towards the two Mandalorians entering the room after Rey.

Rey briefly turned her head and let her eyes wander from the tall form clad in battered, mismatched armor who, admittedly, looked rather intimidating, to the small and cute one, that only wore the distinctive Mandalorian helmet. Apart from the helmet, the child–for it was a youngling from a race still unknown to Rey–was clad in grey robes. It looked adorable with its large green ears poking through the custom-made helmet at the sides and the too-long sleeves of the robes rolled up, leaving only the tips of its three fingers visible, all in all looking like a child playing dress up.

“They are with me,” Rey answered as calmly as possible, despite the suspicion rolling off Finn in waves, making her defensive. Rey’s usual MO was to lash out when her hackles were raised, so staying calm took some effort.

“But who are they? Why are they wearing their helmets inside? This is not a battlefield, this is the current capital of the Galactic Alliance.”

“They are Mandalorians. It isn’t customary for them to show their face to anybody but their tribe. I vouch for them. That should be enough.” Rey opened her arms in a silent invitation. “Don’t I get a hug? Or are you too much of a big deal now to hug an old friend?”

Finn glared at the two strangers who stood behind Rey as if they felt the need to be shielding Rey’s back before he broke into a grin, crossed the room in large strides and embraced his friend.

“You’ve been gone for too long,” he sighed while holding her close. “I missed you!”

“I missed you as well, my friend.” Rey stepped back to smile up at Finn. “I…we brought you a present of sorts as a consolation. We’ve captured Dono Dyarron.”

Upon hearing that name, Finn went rigid, his face hardening and his eyes blazing. Rey had never seen her usually so jovial friend like this, and it scared her.

“Where is the bastard?” he growled.

“Already in custody. He will stand trial for his crimes.” Rey put her hand on Finn’s arm in a soothing gesture.

“Do you have any idea who he is?” Finn bit out.

“I know that he was a high-ranking member of Project Resurrection, in rank not far below Hux.”

“Yes. He planned all the raids, and oversaw the training of the children. He was a known sadist. He–” Finn’s voice faltered, and he closed his eyes, putting a hand over his mouth as if to stifle his pain.

“It’s all right,” a high-pitched voice said, and Rey and Finn looked down to the source of it. The little Mandalorian had stepped forward and touched Finn’s leg with its tiny hand. Rey felt him trying to console Finn with the Force as well as with words, and she smiled widely down at it, nodding her approval.

Finn’s eyes flew to hers.

“Yes, he’s strong in the Force and needs to be trained. That’s why he and his…brother are with me.”

Finn was glaring at the other man in the room again.

“Brother? They look nothing like brothers.”

“Mandalorians take in orphans, and their community takes care of them. After the great purge of Mandalore under the Empire, raising foundlings was the only hope they had to keep the Mandalorian culture alive. So both of them,” Rey pointed to both of her companions, “are orphans taken in by the same tribe, and therefore brothers. Even though the taller one is the younger one by far.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Finn spluttered.

“No, not at all. Not all species age the same. The trouble is, we know nothing of his species. Not what they’re called, nor where they come from, or how long they live. From what we can gather, we know he's at least 70 years old, but he's still very much a child..”

“And what do you know of him?” Finn jerked his chin towards the fully-armored man who seemingly hadn’t moved a muscle since coming to a halt behind Rey.

Rey turned and looked back at her companion with a soft smile playing around her lips.

“He’s an orphan as well. Our little friend here found him, and his tribe took him in as a foundling. He saved my life several times, and I trust him implicitly.” She looked back at Finn. “Is that good enough for you?”

She could watch warring emotions playing out on his face, glaring distrust changing to resignation over Rey’s choice of companionship.

“I don’t like that I can’t see his face, but your trust will have to be enough. You saved my friend’s life, so thank you!” Finn stepped around Rey and towards the Mandalorian, his hand outstretched. “Welcome!”

After a moment’s hesitation, the tall stranger took Finn’s hand and shook it wordlessly.

“It’s great that you two get along,” Rey chirped. “Seeing as he also is my husband.”

Finn whipped around. “What?!”

It should be difficult to radiate smugness in full armor and with his face hidden behind a full vizor, but with a slight shift in the way he held himself, the Mandalorian managed to do just that.

“Don’t be so smug about it,” Rey chided him, but he just shrugged.

“I can’t help it,” he said, his deep voice sounding slightly metallic due to the helmet, nonetheless sending shivers down Rey’s spine.

The news of the last Jedi being married to a masked stranger spread like wildfire through Hanna City. Wherever Rey went, whispers and stares seemed to follow her. During dinner with Rose, Kaydel, Finn, and Poe, it seemed like countless former rebels Rey remembered from her time at Ajan Kloss made sure to stop at their table to greet her, but they also lingered in hope of hearing at least parts of her story firsthand.

Poe and Finn, the latter having brushed up on his knowledge regarding Mandalorians, admonished her about trusting someone she hardly knew, regardless of whether he saved her life. After all, she couldn’t really know who the man under the armor was, and Mandalorians were notorious for being mercenaries, so he was bound to have a shady past he was most likely running from. Rey had a hard time staying calm, explaining that while the Mandalorians were a culturally warriors, they were not necessarily mercenary soldiers; they were also bounty hunters, bodyguards, or instructors of various fighting techniques, and the Galactic Alliance should be glad to have some on their side.

Rose and Kaydel, on the other hand, were over the moon about how romantic it all was, how Rey’d felt a connection and fell in love without ever having seen his face. Of course, they pried and prodded her about her husband’s physical attributes, and sighed dreamily when Rey admitted just how attracted she was to him.

Rey did not lie once about anything she said about her husband, but of course the truth she told her friends was a heavily edited version riddled with omissions. Yes, her husband was an orphan (best not think about the circumstances of his father’s death) and a Mandalorian foundling, but nobody needed to know that he had been found only months ago, weak and suffering from memory loss. That his inherent fighting skills and how he was able to guide the little one in his abilities to use the Force were the reasons he was offered a place in a tribe with formerly only two members. That he’d only regained his memories when Rey held his ungloved hands, tending to wounds he sustained while taking blows meant for her, and how his subsequent unmasking explained the connection she’d instantly felt towards him, how his presence made her feel whole again. 

In short, that her husband was Ben Solo.

Her friends were not ready to hear all the details she left out, and Rey wasn’t sure they would be. Telling them her story while keeping track of all the things she had best not tell was exhausting, so Rey ended dinner with her friends early, despite their protests. After all, she had to look after her young charge – and her husband, as Rose and Kaydel helpfully reminded her with wagging eyebrows, much to the dismay of the men present.

The scene that greeted her when she stepped into their assigned quarters had her smiling fondly. It was such a domestic scene: her husband sat comfortably on the floor–as comfortably as one could get in full Mandalorian armor–guiding their charge through their evening meditation.

“The living Force will want to guide you. Be mindful not to mistake your wishes for the will of the Force,” his deep voice instructed softly.

Rey settled down next to them, regulated her breathing and let her worries float away, focusing on the currents of the Force instead. When she felt the child becoming fidgety beside her, she let herself be pulled back into the moment and opened her eyes, only to be instantly accosted by the little one jumping into her arms.

“Why didn’t you take off your helmet? You’re at home,” she asked as he snuggled close to her.

“Ben didn’t take his helmet off. If he doesn’t, I can’t.”

“You know, you can tell Ben when it’s safe to take off the helmet; you’ve been a Mandalorian far longer than he has. He will listen to you,” Rey said as she pried the helmet off the child’s head. She ruffled the fuzz there before tapping him on his cute little button nose. “Now run to the bathroom. We’ll take full advantage of all the luxuries here and draw you a bath. Off you go!”

The boy instantly wriggled out of her arms and practically skipped towards the bathroom, throwing his arms in the air, whooping.

Rey then turned to the man slowly unfolding his legs next to her.

“Ben, why didn’t you feel comfortable enough to let your guard down? This is home for now.”

“I didn’t know whether someone would accompany you back to our quarters.”

“If that would have been the case, I’d have knocked to give you time to prepare.”

Rey scooted in between her husband’s now outstretched legs and kneeled before him, steadying herself by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“There were always hidden cameras in the guest quarters of a First Order ship, and–”

“But we aren’t on a First Order ship. The Alliance tries to emulate the spirit of the Republic. Do you think the Republic used to invade their guest’s privacy like that?”

He shook his head.

“I take it you swept the room?”

“Of course.” He sounded affronted, and Rey had to smile.

“Did you find anything?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything.”

Rey had managed to pull the blasted helmet off Ben’s head by now, and set it on the ground next to him.

“Trust me, there aren’t,” she whispered, letting her fingers ghost over his face and finally buried them in his hair at the back of his head. Rey hated that he hid his face under the Mandalorian helmet most of the time, that she couldn’t indulge herself and look at his face to make sure that it was truly him at her side. The trauma of having to witness him fade into the Force was still very much alive within her, and she constantly had the urge to make sure that he was truly back, warm and alive under her hands. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, sighing contently when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she whispered as she reluctantly pulled back, remembering she had promised someone to run a bath.

Who knew getting a young one to sleep could be so exhausting? The bath seemed to have energized the child, not made it sleepy as Rey had expected. She had encouraged him to make foam bubbles and keep them afloat with the Force without getting them to burst, which took a lot of concentration. When she finally managed to wrangle him into bed, he wanted to be told stories – stories about Rey fighting and defeating Kylo Ren or of them fighting side by side on the Supremacy. He loved those stories, even more so as he loved Ben, and knew how haunted he was by his past. They’ve always been open about it, and used Ben’s past as Kylo Ren as a cautionary tale against the dark side.

When Rey finally stepped back into the living room, she found that Ben had taken off his armor, and was looking out over the city clad only in his trousers and a loose undershirt. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. Barefoot and devoid of his armor and many layers, this hunk of a man looked so very vulnerable…and very sexy.

She stepped beside him, taking in the view. Countless lights framed the streets, places and buildings against the dark background, forming constellations not unlike the stars up in the sky.

“Did you know I was born here?” His voice was very quiet, barely above a whisper.

Rey turned her head to look at him. His face was cast in shadows, making it hard for her to see the emotions playing out on it, but she could gauge the mood he was in through their bond. She reached out and squeezed his hand, encouraging him to go on.

“I do have memories from here. Some of them are even happy ones.” He took a deep breath. “I remember running through the hallways of the building where we met Finn today. Running towards mom’s office, trying to persuade her to come to the beach with dad and me. Those were happier times, before they–” his voice broke, and he leaned his forehead against the glass. “Before they realized I wasn’t going to turn out the way they’d hoped I would.”

Rey hugged him from behind.

“I’m sure that’s not true. They loved you. It was just Snoke’s, or Palpatine’s voice in your head telling you this.”

“Well, he found lots of stuff in my head to spin against them. I mean, mom had me to raise, but also a galaxy to help lead. And the galaxy needed more and more of her time, so I not only felt but did get sidelined. And dad, well, I guess he felt trapped. He’d envisioned a different life than being the husband of a politician, staying behind to take care of their child. He always longed for adventure. And at a certain point he just took off on his adventures with uncle Chewie or Lando–and I was left behind. Feeling inadequate, like I was driving them away. And then they shipped me off to uncle Luke to become a Jedi, and I can’t help but think they must have been relieved to have me out of their hair, to be able to get on with their lives.”

Ben slumped forward, completely defeated.

“You see, he had lots of things to take a spin on. And he took each and every single one of them and twisted them until nothing good was left,” he whispered, tears clogging his voice.

“And yet you resisted him for so long. I only had him in my head for mere minutes, and I was ready to cave in, thinking what he suggested was the only way left to save my friends. But you–you are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Rey tightened her arms around him, then ducked under his arm and nudged him until he turned and embraced her. She reached up to caress his face and gingerly wiped away the tears that escaped his eyes.

“Think of all the light in you. There was so much of it that it took him years and years to drain it from you. And even then, the light still called to you.”

Rey rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

“And once you stopped resisting its call, the light filled you up and made you shine, almost blindingly so,” she whispered against Ben’s lips, before she continued to press kisses against them.

“You.” She she said in between her kisses. “Are.” This time Ben tentatively reciprocated. “Good.”

“Never stop telling me that. Maybe then I will start to believe it myself, one day.”

When Rey started to trace the seam of his lips with her tongue, his arms, which had been resting loosely at her hips before, tightened and drew her against him, his hand fisting in her tunic. She heard him moan, giving up the fight against what he thought he didn’t deserve and slanted his lips against hers, diving in like a man starving, sloppy and rushed, but oh so good. Rey shoved up his shirt, touching his stomach and his chest while she inched closer to him, hitching one of her legs around his thigh in a desperate attempt to feel as much of him as possible. Before she lost her balance, Ben hoisted her up and she wrapped both her legs around him without breaking the kiss.

They had to break apart, eventually, and Rey continued to whisper against his lips, words Ben needed to hear.

“You are good. And you are good for me. Good to me. I need you. Need to feel you.” She let her head fall on to his shoulder. “Take me to bed, Ben. Please. Let me feel you.”

Immediately, Ben strode towards their room, carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all. He gently sat her onto the bed and kneeled between her legs, his eyes full of love and desire.

“ _Mhi solus tome,_ ” he said as pulled her trousers down before rolling them down her legs, his voice husky, reciting the Mandalorian marriage vows. With feather-light touches and barely-there kisses, he caressed his way up her legs again.

“ _Mhi solus d’har tome,_ ” Rey whispered as his hands found their way under her tunic, caressing her breasts while nuzzling his mouth between her legs, parting her folds with his tongue. It didn’t take Ben long to have her arch her back off the bed in ecstasy, but it was not enough. With Ben, it was never enough. She longed to have him fill her up, to make her feel whole.

“ _Mhi me’dinui an,_ ” Ben almost hissed, after Rey had divested herself of her remaining clothes and all but clawed Ben’s off his body, and he eased himself over her, gently sliding into her. After that, only their breathless moans and cries of pleasure could be heard until they both lay panting next to each other, both covered in sweat.

“ _Mhi ba’juri verde,_ ” Rey completed the vow, cradling Ben’s face in her hands. “Or Jedis. Or we just raise them to become whatever they want, as long as they stay true to themselves.”

Ben looked at her for a long time after that, letting the renewal of their vows sink in.

“I don’t deserve you. But I never want to let you, or the little one, go. I finally feel as if I found my home. And it’s with you.”

“You’ll never feel alone again, I promise,” Rey whispered.

“Neither will you.” Ben’s whole body shook, and he clung to her while she stroked his back and pressed kisses to his neck and shoulders.

Eventually, Ben sighed, his eyes starting to droop.

“Oh no, we’re both going to take advantage of the tub installed here.” Rey reached out to shake him awake. While bathing the little one, she had fantasized about soaking in there together with him It was going to be a tight fit, but she was sure they would make it work.

She took his hands, and pulled him up into a sitting position.

“Please? Tomorrow morning there won’t be time for sharing a bath.”

Ben smiled, and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Mandalorian marriage vows ( Star Wars Insider, issue 86):**  
>  Mhi solus tome – We are one when together  
> Mhi solus d’har tome – We are one when parted  
> Mhi me’dinui an – We share all  
> Mhi ba’juri verde – We will raise warriors
> 
> A huge shout out to my patient beta-reader! Thank you so much for all your help.


	2. Chapter 2

“Yasin!”

Rey felt a weight settle down on the bed in front of her. Behind her, Ben groaned into her neck, and the arm he had flung over her form tightened and pressed her into him. Too bad she couldn’t take advantage of the interesting development currently nestled against her backside. She reluctantly pried her eyes open and looked into the boy’s smiling face.

“Good morning to you. What did you say?”

“Morning!” At least he pretended to look a little bit abashed at his lack of manners. He let his ears droop for a moment and blinked, but he wasn’t able to hold back his excitement for long.

“I want to be called Yasin.”

Ever since Ben had remembered how his uncle Luke had described his old master Yoda and mentioned that he and their little charge might be the same species, the little one was determined to find a name starting with the same first letter for himself. They’d already gone through Yuri, Yash, Yasser, Yukio and Yanni. Each name had been discarded after a couple of days, having been deemed not fitting enough.

“You know, we can just call you Y,” Rey murmured, distracted by how Ben’s hand was inching towards her boobs under her sleeping shirt, thankfully hidden from view by the blanket.

“No. Everyone would just be asking, ‘ _ why what?’ _ ! I want a full name.”

“Mmmh, Yasin Solo. Sounds nice,” Ben’s deep voice rumbled from behind.

“Yasin Solo of the Mudhorn tribe! That’s me!” The boy raised one hand above his head, as far as that was even possible with his short arms, tilted his head and smiled, exposing his small sharp teeth.

“All right Yasin, why are you up this early?” Rey finally asked, squinting at the clock.

“Ben promised to show me the beach!”

Rey turned her head so she could see Ben out of the corner of her eye.

“You did?”

“Mmmh, yeah. I remember dad taking me there and that we had fun, so I thought he would enjoy it…that we would all enjoy it.”

“That’s nice. I have to be back for a meeting about the anniversary festivities this afternoon, though. They want me present and visible. Use me as a symbol.” Rey sighed. “Which I’d rather not be, but I get why it would help them.”

“Then we should get going, I suppose. Who wants breakfast?”

“Me!” Yasin shouted, jumping off the bed and racing out of the door.

They took speeder bikes to Junari Point, which was located a few clicks outside Hanna City proper, with Yasin riding double in front of Ben and secured by a harness. They went slow while weaving through the city’s narrow streets, but as soon as the white high-rise buildings of the inner city gave way to smaller houses and broader roads, they accelerated, relishing the thrill of speed. Outside of the big cities, Chandrila was a lush green planet with lots of space devoted to agriculture, and had vast areas with natural vegetation. They sped past small rural villages surrounded by green woods until the sea spread before them, glittering like a blue jewel.

Junari Point, located on a small headland, was popular with the inhabitants of Hanna City. The shallow beaches near the mouth of the Junari River were usually overcrowded, and Rey started to doubt the wisdom of their little excursion; her two Mandalorians would not be able to divest themselves of their armor, but Ben continued to press on towards the far end of the half-island, were the coast was steeper and less accessible.

Ben stopped and dismounted his speeder at a small bar, if it could be called that. It was nothing but a round wooden counter under a wind-ruffled tent. He exchanged a few words and coins with the bartender, nodded at the lone patron who looked up from his mug and regarded them curiously, before he beckoned Rey and Yanis to follow him.

“Dad hated the overcrowded beaches, and avoided them at all cost. He always took me to this place,” he explained with a sweeping gesture of his hand as he finally came to a halt on top of a cliff, after a short walk.

“Ben, you were talking about a beach.” Rey frowned. “This is a cliff.”

“Look down.”

When her eyes followed Ben’s outstretched hand, she noticed rocks forming a barrier towards the high sea, effectively creating a small pool of water with whispers of waves lapping at a small beach, only accessible through a steep path down the cliff they were standing at.

“The little one--”

“Will be fine. I’ll carry him.”

In a well-practiced move, Yasin climbed onto Ben’s back, and they started their descent. Once they reached the bottom of the cliff, Ben set his charge down, and both of them removed their helmets.

“It’s beautiful down here,” Rey whispered. “So very peaceful!”

“With the changing of the tide it gets less so, but for now, we are safe. And alone– climbing down is too much of an effort for most people.” Ben smiled, and started to shed his armor and clothes until he stood in front of Rey in nothing but his trunks. It really was a shame that he normally hid his body under so many layers. Her eyes roamed his body, drank in his powerful legs, his well-muscled torso and arms, and marveled over his pale, scar-free skin. Her gaze lingered over the places where she knew she had marked him–or rather his dark alter ego.

Yasin’s whooping pulled her from her reverie. The boy had divested himself from his robe and was chasing waves, naked like the day he’d been born.

“Come on, surely you won’t stay fully clothed, will you?” Ben waggled his eyebrows. “I want to have something to ogle too.”

“You should enjoy it when your wife ogles you,” Rey retorted, but a blush spread across her cheeks at being caught.

“Oh, I do. Very much so,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before he turned and sprinted towards the boy, challenging him to a Force-aided water fight.

It didn’t take Rey long to join in, Yasin and her teaming up against Ben. She helped the boy form water creatures and had them chase against Ben’s creations, which were all marvelously defeated rather spectacularly, dousing them all in fountains of water. Whenever the child got swept off its feet by a particularly violent burst of water, Ben was always quick to catch him and help him up, their combined laughs echoing off the cliffs.

Rey couldn’t remember being so carefree in all her life, and she vowed to make sure Yasin had more of such moments. Sure, he needed to be trained, but life was more than learning and fighting. Love and laughter were far more important.

Even when the boy started to show signs of fatigue, it took them some time to coerce him out of the water. While Rey and Ben reclined on the beach and basked in the sun, Yasin continued to wear himself out by roaming the beach and collecting pebbles for the stone skipping competition Ben had used as bait to get him to dry off.

“Dad taught me how to skip stones,” Ben murmured against her shoulder. “And he never let me win.”

“Will you? Let him win?”

“He already won the water fight. No need to spoil him too much.”

In the end, Yasin was clever enough to beat Ben on his own.

“I think you’re cheating,” Ben mock-scolded the boy and tickled him when Yasin's stone always skipped farther than his after a few rounds.

“No,” the boy yelped. “But I’m helping the odds.”

On their way back to the city, Yasin fell asleep on the speeder bike, worn out by the morning’s adventures. They had plenty of time to get back before Rey’s meeting, so they took it a bit slower as to not jostle the boy around too much. With the lowered speed, it gave people the opportunity to see them more clearly, and Ben and Yasin earned a lot of stares. Mandalorians were but a myth these days.

When they dismounted the speeders in front of the Senatorial building, Ben noticed workers raising up a stage at the far end of the Plaza.

“What’s going on there?” he asked. Judging by the tone of his voice, Rey would wager that he was frowning.

“They are raising a stage for us to stand on during the parade that will start the anniversary celebrations.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He tried to control his voice, so he wouldn’t wake the boy sleeping in his arms.

“No, unfortunately. I really don’t like having to stand up there, but all the core members of the resistance will be there, showing a unified front.”

“They know what happened right here, in this very place during the New Republic’s Liberation Day festivities, right?” Ben grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. He sounded upset, and Rey could clearly feel his distress. She knew that the Empire had used freed prisoners to launch an attack during the celebrations, and that many politicians and innocents had been killed or gravely injured. 

“Yeah, they do. I guess that’s why they want to show the galaxy that nothing’s going to happen time around. The First Order is gone.”

“Not yet. There are still some factions left, and they will want to make sure the whole of the galaxy sees that the Alliance is not in charge everywhere, to show that they still have a role to play. They  _ are _ going to attack. With all of you on display up there!” He pointed towards the stage.

“There will be security measures–!”

“I want to see the plans for that!”

“Ben–”

“It’s your life on the line, and so I won’t take any chances. I know how the First Order thinks, so let me help,” he started to plead.

“Well, we can’t tell them that, now can we? Besides, Finn knows how they operate as well.”

“Not as well as I do. Let me come to this meeting. Please.”

Rey sighed, defeated. “Very well. But don’t be surprised if they don’t accept your offer.”

Mistrust thick enough to be cut hung in the air as Ben entered the conference room in the Senatorial building after Rey. They were fashionably late after bringing Yasin to their quarters so he could continue his nap, and the heads of all attendees turned towards them. Rey almost felt as if she had been transported back in time, as all the key players of the Resistance were present: Poe and Finn as military advisers, as well as Rose, Kaydel and Lieutenant D’Acy, and even Maz was there. In addition, for every face she recognized there were at least twice as many she’d never seen before.

Poe was the first to rise and stride towards them.

“Rey, lovely that you could join us. I’m very sorry I have to insist on your husband leaving this meeting.”

“He wanted to offer his service as a security adviser for the festivities. He is quite concerned about–”

“That is very generous of him, but we do have it covered.” He shook Ben’s hand while declining the offer.

“With all due respect, General,” Ben addressed him, weighing his words carefully. “The Mandalorian culture is centered on combat and defense. You might find having a Mandalorian involved in your security details to be to your advantage.”

Rey had to suppress a smile when she felt Ben broadcasting a gentle suggestion towards everyone in the room. It was not an outright command, just a little nudge to have them consider his proposal. As Poe was not outright rejecting the proposition again, like Rey would have expected of him, it really seemed to work.

“As a matter of fact, I think you should take him up on it.” Suddenly, Maz was standing next to Rey. “Hello, my child. It’s good to see you again,” she said, looking up at her before shifting her gaze to Ben. “And you as well.” She held her hand out, and Ben took it carefully. He said nothing, but inclined his head in greeting.

“A fresh pair of eyes might give you a different perspective. Besides, the advisers and staff who were not active in the Resistance will be watching the ceremony from the balcony, and they are in need of protection as well. I’d love to have the two Mandalorians up there with them.”

“Well, that’s settled then,” Finn chimed in jovially, clapping Poe on the shoulder. “I’m looking forward to working with you.” He nodded towards Ben. “Let’s get started.”

Rey knew that Ben hated it when she wore white, it reminded him too much of when he saw her lying dead on Exegol. Rey herself hated white as well, as the color was forever linked to intense grief. After all, she was wearing white when Ben had sacrificed himself in exchange for her life and faded away after just a moment of happiness. She never would be able to separate the emotion from the color.

But for ceremonial reasons, they had given her a white ensemble to wear today, one very similar to what she used to wear in the days she’s spent training with Leia, who not only taught her what she knew about the Force, but also tried to instill her fashion sense in Rey–an endeavor she definitely did not succeed in.

As Rey gazed out over a sea of people from where she stood at the side of the stage, she tried to get a feel for the mood of the crowd gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the First and Final Order’s fall. The first elections of the Galactic Alliance were coming up, and as such the resistance members who’d stepped up to lead in those first hours were ready to pass the baton on to the soon to be elected leaders–but not without imparting words of caution to the people present at the plaza, or watching the celebration on the Holonet News.

Poe finished delivering his speech and waved Finn forward to speak some rousing words as well.

“Hello, Chandrila,” he started, clearly nervous, not used to speaking in such a public setting despite having been a military advisor for the last year.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rey saw movement; it was like a tremor in the crowd, caused by moving bodies and turning heads. Through her bond she felt that Ben had already noticed it too, and that he was on high alert, so she unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and held it loosely, her thumb hovering over the ignite button.

“The Empire, the First or Final Order, or whatever they wanted to call themselves in the end, is fractured, pushed back, planet by planet, system by system. And we will help those freed systems regain their autonomy–”

There. Someone was cutting through the crowd on the left side of the plaza. As Rey’s eyes zoned in on them, she spied similar movements on the other side, noticed the jostled bodies and turning heads. When light reflexes danced across an object that by all rights shouldn’t have been able to be smuggled past the check-points - a small and concealable blaster - panic surged through her at first, but then Rey centered herself and let herself be a conduit of the Force. She allowed it to pull her to the front of the stage, next to the podium Finn was currently standing on while delivering his speech. She ignited her lightsaber, the gasps and cries of the people noticing what was going on drowning out the steady hum of the trusted weapon, and let the Force guide her swings. Rey didn’t have time to think or analyze the situation, she acted on instinct, swinging where she felt her sword should be, causing blaster bolts she hadn’t even noticed being fired to ricochet off the blade towards the sky, where they could cause no harm. She was only faintly aware of the commotion happening in the crowd, where civilian guards Ben had insisted to place at critical points wrangled attackers to the ground as she spun to deflect more shots, desperately hoping the attack would end before one of her swings would cause collateral damage.

After the first cries of surprise and panic had died down, an unnatural silence fell over the plaza. Rey lowered her lightsaber and looked around her–nobody seemed to be hurt. Her friends standing behind her had dropped to crouching positions to be less of a target, and were staring up to the balcony where the politicians and their advisory staff had been watching the festivities. In front of the balcony, blaster bolts were hovering in midair. Yasin was perched on the railing next to Ben, both stretching an arm out towards the bolts.

“Everybody move inside!” Rey could hear Ben shouting, causing the people on the balcony to unfreeze and scramble through the big glass doors. Only when the doors shut behind the last of them did he and Yasin drop behind the railing, letting the blaster bolts continue their original path of destruction.

“Finn, continue the speech. Show that we are not rattled by such a cowardly attack,” Poe urged his friend, and they all stood up again. When Finn stepped up to the podium once more, cheers and applause erupted from the crowd below the stage, sending goosebumps down Rey’s body.

“We do not bow to such a cowardly act of terror,” Finn’s voice boomed over the cheers. “We stand united, the courage of our allies protecting us! More and more systems will shake off the First Order’s slipping grip, and we will welcome them. Let us be the safe haven where they can heal!”

A first assessment showed that apart from minor injuries some people sustained from scrambling to get better coverage, nobody was severely hurt. The Galactic Alliance had been prepared, and was able to thwart the First Order’s–at least so far everyone assumed it had been orchestrated by the First Order–terrorist attack. Initial opinion polls showed a rise of trust in the current leadership, and already voices could be heard of those who wanted to keep them permanently in prominent roles within the future administration.

Rey had been antsy during the reminder of the celebratory act; decorum dictated she continued to stay at her place on stage, but her heart wanted nothing more than to run upstairs and make sure Ben and Yasin were all right. Ben projected that they were all right through the bond, but she longed to see it with her own eyes, longed to run her hands over both of them to make sure they really were not injured.

As soon as the last speeches were done and the last notes of the Galactic fanfare had faded away, Rey pushed her way through the dispersing crowd as fast as she could with Finn and Poe hot on her heels. She ran upstairs, taking two steps at a time, and burst through the huge double doors leading into the banquet hall where the politicians and their staff were gathered. She looked around frantically until her eyes found Ben near the balcony doors, hunched over and talking to Maz Kanata, but as if he felt her searching for her–which he probably did–he immediately lifted his head and nodded a silent greeting. She strode towards them, brushing off the advanced of people wanting to talk to her, until she found Yasin standing in front of her. She scooped him up immediately, holding him tight.

“Are you all right?” she asked breathlessly.

“Of course!” The boy squirmed in her arms. “Rey, your lightsaber moves were fantastic! I want to learn how to do that!”

“Oh, you will, believe me. You were great as well. When did you learn how to hold a blaster shot?”

“We’ve been practicing every day since we got the job as bodyguards here. It’s a neat trick, huh?”

Rey nodded in reply, already moving towards Ben, who embraced both Rey and Yasin with his long arms and rested his vizor against Rey’s forehead.

“I’m so glad you are ok,” she whispered, and Ben pulled her even closer.

“And I am glad that you are unharmed.”

“You were right, though.”

“Hmm, yes, it happens,” Ben quipped, and Rey smiled until she heard an angry voice behind her.

“I demand that you take off your helmet immediately!”

Rey turned, put Yasin down, and both of them stood defensively in front of Ben.

“Poe! You know that is against his people’s customs –“

“I don’t care! I’ve seen that trick with the blaster bolts once at Jakku, performed by Kylo Ren. Thought you were clever, changing one mask with another, were you?” Poe Dameron hissed while closing in, spittle flying from his mouth.

Rey tensed up, her mind frantically searching for a way out of this predicament.

“Poe Dameron!” a voice boomed next to her. “How can you disrespect the customs of another culture like this?” Maz Kanata had stepped next to Rey, her hands akimbo, radiating fury. “This man has diligently helped with today’s security and has most likely saved many lives today. This is not how we treat our heroes.”

“But –”

“No buts, Dameron! Kylo Ren surely was not the only one able to hold blaster bolts. I’m sure Rey could do this as well. Besides, Kylo Ren died on Kef Bir, when Rey defeated him. I felt it. As did Finn, I’m sure.”

Poe turned his head to look at Finn, who nodded reluctantly.

“Yes, I felt…something shift. I didn’t know what it was, though.”

“There you go! And now leave them alone. Don’t you see that you are intruding on a private moment?”

Poe did manage to look contrite, as he nodded and left, after Rey sensed a hint of a suggestion that sent him on his way coming from Yasin. She was just about to scold him for it, when she heard Maz say, “Well done, young Mandalorian. Often, planting a suggestion is better than facing a battle with an unknown outcome.”

Maz smiled at him, and shifted her gaze from Yasin’s to Rey’s face.

“Child, do you remember when I told you that the belonging you seek is not behind you, but ahead?”

Rey frowned at the sudden change of topic, but nodded.

“I’m glad you found it, and not only that, but your other half as well.”

**Author's Note:**

> A huge shout out to my patient beta-reader, [RedPaladin465](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedPaladin465/pseuds/RedPaladin465/works)! Thank you so much for all your help.


End file.
